Germany’s Federal Labour Court (BAG) has clarified that employees are generally bound by a valid request for parental leave.
This applies even where personal or family circumstances change before the parental leave period begins. The binding effect of a parental leave request will only cease in limited statutory exception cases.
Sarah Klachin, Munich-based employment law expert at Pinsent Masons, said: “From an employer’s perspective, the decision is to be welcomed, as it further emphasises the binding nature of a parental leave request.”
The case (link in German) concerned an employee who had applied for one year of parental leave. Before the leave commenced, he separated from the child’s mother and moved out of the family home, while the child remained with the mother.
As the employee no longer fulfilled the statutory requirements for parental leave and parental allowance, he sought to continue working instead. He argued that the loss of entitlement to parental allowance constituted an unreasonable hardship. The employer refused to continue his employment, having already engaged a temporary replacement employee.
The BAG ruled in favour of the employer. According to the court, an employee remains bound by a parental leave request even if the conditions giving rise to the entitlement subsequently cease to exist.
Except for statutory exceptions, parental leave may only be terminated early with the employer’s consent. In cases involving the birth of another child or...
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